RECAP: The big GOP debate

Houston, Texas, hosted the 10th Republican presidential
debate of the 2016 election season Thursday night on CNN, and it
got nasty.

For two hours, Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas
launched attacks at GOP frontrunner Donald Trump. Trump spent his
night firing back at the senators.

The event, which was hosted by the University of Houston,
was the last debate before next week's "Super Tuesday"
primary — where 12 states will be voting for a GOP nominee.

Trump was at the center podium and was the big target
for his rivals as his position in the race solidifies with win
after win.

He was flanked by Rubio and Cruz, who didn't spend much time
going after each other during the debate. Cruz won the Iowa
caucuses but has slipped behind Rubio in the two most recent
contests.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson
were also on the stage, but they didn't receive as much
attention as the top-three in the race. They both trail the top
tier by a considerable margin in the upcoming "Super Tuesday"
states.

Here's our recap of the night:

10:50 p.m. EST. — The candidates gave their
closing statements.

Carson talked about how a movie was made about his
hands. Trump said "nobody knows politicians better than I
do."

Screenshot/YouTube

10:37 p.m. EST. — "Their brand is not
superior to the national security of the United States of
America," Rubio said about the debate over whether Apple should
allow the government to create a backdoor to get into the San
Bernardino shooter's iPhone.

Cruz agreed, and said Apple can't violate a court order.

Kasich then criticized Obama for not doing more to reach a
solution in the ordeal.

10:32 p.m. EST. — Trump and Cruz had their most
heated exchange of the night.

"Relax, Donald," Cruz said.

"You're the basket case," Trump responded.

Here's the full exchange:

Trump: "I watched what this man did, to Dr. Ben
Carson — who I respect —in Iowa. Where he said that Ben Carson is
out of the race, has left Iowa, and he’s out of the race, and I
thought it was disgraceful."

Trump: "And he got a lot of votes, because of
that. He took them away from Ben Carson, and he probably took
some away from me too. But I watched him. I also watched where he
did a form, that looked like it came right out of a government
agency, and it said on top: Voter violation, and then it graded
you. And it scared the hell out of people. And the only way to
clear up the violation essentially is to go and vote for Ted
Cruz. I watched that fraudulent document. And I said it’s the
worst thing it’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen in politics. To
me, that was even worse than what he did with Ben."

Trump: "I know politicians, believe it or not,
better than you do. And it’s not good."

Cruz: "Oh, I believe it. I believe you know
politicians better than I do, because for 40 years, you’ve been
funding liberal democratic politicians."

Trump: "I funded you! I funded him! I funded
this guy! I gave him a check."

Cruz: "Lets be clear. He gave me $5000, and by
the way, lets be clear. Donald claims to care — I understand
rules are very hard for you."

Trump (to Rubio): "Thank you for the book. Go
ahead."

Cruz: "Donald, you can get back…"

Trump: "We’re having fun up here tonight I’ll
tell you. Thank you for the book, I really appreciate it."

Cruz to Blitzer: "Excuse me! He called me a liar
and interrupted the whole time."

Screenshot/YouTube

10:29 p.m. EST.
— "Can somebody attack me, please?"
Carson said.

10:26 p.m. EST. — Cruz
then called out Trump for donating to Secretary of State John
Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign and to other Democratic
candidates.

10:26 p.m. EST. — Trump then said that Libya and
the US "would be so much better
if Gaddafiwas in charge."

10:23 p.m. EST. — Trump called the ceasefire in
Syria "meaningless."

10:19 p.m. EST. — "People say that I whine a lot
because I don't get time. I'm going to whine," Carson said,
adding that he didn't get asked about taxes or Israel.

He then gave his answers on Israel and North Korea.

Screenshot/CNN

10:13 p.m. EST. — "The Palestinians are
not a real estate deal," Rubio fired back at Trump.

10:09 p.m. EST. — "It
doesn't do any good to start demeaning the neighbors," Trump said
in regard to a question about his stance on the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "I would love to do something to
negotiate peace. I cannot do that as well if I'm taking big big
sides. With that being said, I'm totally pro-Israel."

10:02 p.m. EST.
— "It's interesting that Donald went on an
extended tirade about the polls" without saying anything of
substance, Cruz said. "The only reason he isn't releasing [tax
returns] is because he's afraid there's something in there
that could get him hit."

Screenshot/CNN

9:56 p.m. EST. — "I know I'm
good for the ratings but it's a little bit ridiculous," Trump
said as Hewitt called him out for not releasing his tax returns
after saying he would do so on his show. "First of all, very few
people listen to your radio show."

9:55 p.m. EST. — Trump then dug into
Romney:

"I will say this. Mitt Romney looked like a fool when he delayed
and delayed and delayed and Harry Reid baited him beautifully.
Mitt Romney didn’t file his return until September 21st 2012,
about a month and half before the election. And it cost him
bigly. As far as my return I want to file it."

9:53 p.m. EST. — "I'm a big fan of the governor
but they also struck oil," Trump said of Kasich, referencing
fracking in the state.

Screenshot/CNN

9:48
p.m. EST.
—
"You may let it, you may be fine with it," Trump said to Cruz
about letting people die in the street.

"I will not let people die on the street if I'm president," he
added, insisting to Cruz that he isn't an advocate for government
sponsored healthcare.

9:46
p.m. EST.
—
Cruz then asked if he would get a chance to join in on the
Obamacare debate.

"It's kind of an issue I have a long issue with," Cruz said.

"How do you get that extra time Cruz?" Kasich jumped in and
added.

Screenshot/CNN

9:39
p.m. EST.
— Rubio
then repeatedly called out Trump on healthcare.

"What is your plan?" he said repeatedly.

He continued: "Your only plan is to get rid of the lines around
the states, but what else is in your plan?"

Trump continued to fight back, but didn't elaborate more.

"He's repeating himself," Rubio said. "You repeat yourself
everyday."

Then Trump called him out for his repeating of the same canned
line in a recent debate when pressed by New Jersey Gov. Chris
Christie.

"I saw you repeat yourself five times five seconds ago," Rubio
said with a smile.

"Tomorrow, maybe I won't sell to someone who's divorced," he
said, saying if you're religious you should say a prayer for them
but you shouldn't refuse to serve them.

9:30 p.m. EST.
— Trump then defended some of
the services provided by Planned Parenthood.

"As far as Planned Parenthood is concerned, I'm
pro-life, I’m totally against abortion having to do with Planned
Parenthood, and I wouldn’t fund it," he said. "But millions and
millions of women with cervical cancer, breast cancer, are helped
by Planned Parenthood. So you can say whatever you want, but
there’s millions of women who are going through Planned
Parenthood that are helped."

9:26 p.m. EST.
— "I think that maybe we
should maybe get a little bit of an apology from Senator Ted what
do you think," Trump said in reference to Cruz calling out
decisions his sister has backed as a federal judge.

"I will not apologize for a minute for defending the
constitution," Cruz responded.

Screenshot/CNN

9:24 p.m. EST.
— "Justice Roberts gave
us Obamacare," Trump said. "Might as well be called Robertscare."

9:21 p.m. EST. — Trump
said he'd do better with Hispanics than anyone else on the stage.
He added he settled his lawsuit with Univision.

9:12 p.m. EST. — "We have to move past this idea
that the Hispanic community only cares about immigration," Rubio
said.

9:02 p.m. EST. — Trump was then asked by
Blitzer about what former Mexican President Vicente Fox said
Thursday, telling a reporter that he wouldn't build the "f------g
wall."

"The wall just got 10 feet taller," Trump said. "This guy used a
filthy disgusting word on television, and he should
apologize."

He then said he "wouldn't mind" a trade war with Mexico.

Rubio then got a chance to jump in, and again asked the audience
to search: "Donald Trump Polish workers." Rubio then dug in
deeper, saying he hadn't bankrupt four companies or run a "fake
university."

"If he hadn't inherited 200 million dollars, you
know where Donald Trump would be right now? Selling watches in
Manhattan," Rubio said.

8:53 p.m. EST. — Trump and Cruz then
exchanged barbs.

"You get along with nobody," Trump said. "You
don’t have one Republican senator endorsing you."

"I think Donald is right. he is promising if
he’s elected he will go and cut deals in Washington," Cruz said.
"He has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to
Democrats."

"Washington doesn’t like it, and Donald, if you
want to be liked in Washington, that’s not a good attitude for
being for being president."

"He talks about corruption, but he doesn’t put
that he’s borrowing from Citibank and Goldman Sachs on his
financial disclosure form which is totally a violation," Trump
said "He just left it off. Now he’s going to protect the people
from the big bad banks."

8:48 p.m. EST. — The debate opened up with
a question about the candidates immigration, and it got heated
between Rubio and Trump.

After Rubio called out Trump for changing his position on
immigration, he added that Trump hired immigrants who entered the
country illegally in Florida. He also said that he criticized
former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for his immigration
policies during his 2012 presidential campaign.

"As far as the people that I've hired in Florida during the
absolute prime season, you could not get help," Trump said. "Very
seasonal, 90 day jobs, 120 days. You couldn't get help in
those hot, hot sections of Florida."

He added: "I criticized Mitt Romney for losing the election. He
ran a terrible campaign, he was a terrible candidate. ... He ran
one terrible campaign. That's an election that should've been
won."

"I'm the only one on this stage who's hired people," he
continued. "You have nothing but problems with your credit cards,
so don't tell me."

Then Rubio told the audience to search "Trump Polish workers" on
Google.

8:33 p.m. EST. — CNN moderator Wolf Blitzer
announced that former President George H.W. Bush and his wife,
former First Lady Barbara Bush, are in attendance. Bush's son,
Jeb Bush, dropped out of the race after Saturday's South Carolina
primary.